Standard CMMI Appraisal Method for Process Improvement (SCAMPI)

1.1 Analyze Requirements (continued)
Key Points
Tools and
Techniques
Metrics
Verification and
Validation
Records
Tailoring
At this early stage in the process, gathering information that supports good
planning is most important. Often, the appraisal team leader must educate
members of the sponsor’s organization in the purpose and role of appraisals.
Collaborative consultation between the appraisal team leader and the appraisal
sponsor is important in this activity. The appraisal team leader may be able to
simply interview the sponsor to get the needed information and reach
agreements. In some settings, a series of meetings with different stakeholders
may be needed to elicit and build consensus on the business needs that can be
met through a SCAMPI appraisal.
Understanding the history of appraisals in the organization, especially the
organizational and model scope of past appraisals, is important for
understanding the requirements for the appraisal under consideration. The
choices sponsors make about appraisal scope are often tied to their
(sometimes-unstated) priorities for process improvement.
A number of metrics support the appraisal team leader’s monitoring of this
work:
• calendar time between initial contact and finalization of requirements
• effort expended to gather and analyze requirements
• number of meetings with representatives of the sponsoring and/or
appraised organization
The exit criterion for this activity is the formal approval of the appraisal input
and its placement under change management.
Review of the documented agreements resulting from the work of this set of
activities will serve to validate the requirements, which feed into appraisal
planning.
The appraisal input
The experience of the sponsor with process appraisals will drive tailoring
choices for this process.
• A relatively inexperienced appraisal sponsor will need a great deal of
information and collaborative consultation to provide meaningful and
complete requirements for the appraisal.
• Experienced sponsors may have overly aggressive requirements.
Continued on next page
Page II-4
CMU/SEI-2001-HB-001